Tag: investigations

Ok, since I have gotten lazy about blogging lately here is April all rolled into one…

Spring walksHighfield Park, including some of the tree trail with friendsGrowing our own foodScience experiment- celery in food colouringSand and water playProblem solving- how to patch up a leak with resources availableArt group- foam marblingGeneral garden funSquiggle designed a carrier bag kite and parachuteQuality time with our catsObserving and discussing the sky above- including clouds, rainbows, sunrise and sunsetPlaydate at homeWritingPrincess Diana Playground, KensingtonAldenham SEN playgroundDesigning own games and activitiesArt and craftsFun at a parkPhysical games- cone activitiesMore playground fun- with grandadButterfly WorldNew 'Music Meadow' at Butterfly WorldSeaside- yes, she did steal daddys cardigan for a short while!Art groupArt group- butterfly symmetry paintingArt and Science! Put a few drops of food colouring into milk. Then put some washing liquid on a cotton bud, dip it in and let the colours disperse. Makes an interesting 'painting'Exploring instruments- lots of singing and dancing too!Park with a friend

We also did lots of Easter activities, which I blogged about separately, and have been to music class but haven’t got any photos of that! Last but not least, we did various circus themed activities, but that needs it’s own post!

Drawing various characters she has created in a variety of outfits 01.11.14Fishing for coins in the bath- a game she designed herself 01.11.14Squiggle started off using her balance scales to compare volumes of water. This then led to a discussion about measurements of solids and liquids, and the units they are measured in. She then decided to experiment with comparing the ducks and water combined. She observed that when the water was the same volume each side and therefore balanced, that the two ducks did not weigh the same. This was not what she predicted because they look the same and are the same size, but she the concluded one of them must have water inside adding to the weight. She then tried to push the duck down into the water and was amused that it popped back up again so we discussed why this happens. She also noticed the water level rises as she did so, which also led to a discussion on water displacement. 01.11.14We went to watch white water rafting at Lee Valley. 01.11.14Caldecotte lake 02.11.14Watching watersports on the lake 02.11.1402.11.14Photos at the lake 02.11.14One of my favourite photographs of Caldecotte lake 02.11.14Cuddly toy cat game 03.11.14Paradise park 04.11.14 physical exercise and a spot of map reading tooA few of the animals at Paradise park 04.11.14We were lucky enough to spot a two day old newborn baby gibbon clinging to mum 04.11.14Squiggle used her Sylvanian families to act out a day at school. This led to some very interesting questions, such as why do the children need to wear a school uniform, who decides what it should be etc… We then had a very balanced discussion about the differences between school and home education. She was able to articulate very well why she personally feels home ed is much better suited to her needs. 05.11.14Southend beach 06.11.14We found this great resource at the beach playground, it is simple explanation of the weather cycle. Squiggle enjoyed learning how clouds form and how it rains. This led to further discussion about weather, the sun and also how stars form too 06.11.14Boats at Southend 06.11.14Some of my favourite photos from our trip to Southend 06.11.14Scenic photos of Southend 06.11.14Local fireworks display 07.11.14Watching fireworks with a friend 08.11.14Playing in the garden 09.11.14Picnic in the garden 09.11.14Fun at Bopping Babes disco 09.11.14Small world imaginary play 10.11.14Acting out Ayletts Christmas display from last year 11.11.14We then visited Ayletts garden centre to see this year’s display 11.11.14Notcutts garden centre 11.11.14Squiggle made her own Christmas sticker book 12.11.14Sylvanian family decorating for Christmas (wearing clothes she made for them for winter) 12.11.14Duplo construction (tree house playground) 13.11.14Clarence park 13.11.14Squiggle designed a multi pack of cat treats 14.11.14Squiggle then asked the next day to go to the pet shop to buy the cats a treat 15.11.14Chilling togetherVan Hage garden centre 16.11.14We popped to Stanborough lake briefly on the way home 16.11.14

In addition to these activities, we also practised estimating (time mainly) and discussed the difference between a guess and an estimate. We have also played a game several times that she invented whereby we try to recall what we were doing x number of days ago. This proved to be a fun memory game and we enjoyed talking about past events, as well as doing the maths to work out how many weeks, months and sometimes years ago the day was. I also discovered she didn’t know what a typewriter was when she found a miniature toy one (then again, why would she know!) So we discussed technology and how it has progressed, which she found very interesting.

Imaginative play- skiingFace painting Fluffy. She sounded out ‘flufe’Balancing on the logs with Gingerbread, our cat.Picking fruit from our garden, lots of blackberries and a few apples too.Collage person.Art group, using different tools for painting.Using connect four counters to make models. She made a 2D dog and a plane, plus a well balanced 3D tower.Learning about gravity and designing parachutes for her seals. She compared which fell fastest and we talked about why. She then modified her design several times to try to improve it’s effectiveness.Design and technology, plus imaginative play. She built a park out of duplo for some of her toys. She also designed and made paper clothes for them to wear.Paradise Wildlife ParkA friend’s birthday party.

Playing in the woods with friendsWhipsnade zoo.Squiggle particularly enjoyed comparing her hand to an adult foot and elephant foot, driving along the ‘Passage through Asia’ and seeing baby Mara, as well as playing in the outdoor adventure play area ‘Hullabazoo’. She also loved the penguins and of course the sealions. One of the sealions spent much of the time sunbathing, which she found especially fascinating and hilarious. She was also able to view them underwater (for sealion cuddles!) and watched a member of staff carry out their health checks and enrichment activities, which she found both intriguing and entertaining. Later two of the sealions enjoyed playing under the spray of a water hose, which she was also lucky enough to observe.Playing at home.A few of her self- chosen activities recently include making outfits for her toys, drawing and writing, practising her letter formation, reading books to her toy baby, making mosaic pictures and hosting an imaginary bring and share lunch with toys. Lifting and carrying shopping is a fantastic sensory activity!Making magnets using plaster in mouldsPrincess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington has lots of sensory activities.Art group/ Meet up and playLocal park (with friends, just not pictured!)Woodside Farm.Squiggle loved spending time with family members, playing inside and outside, feeding the rabbits and guinea pigs, and seeing other various animals including goats (including a baby kid less than a fortnight old). llamas, lemurs, ducks and geese.This begun has Squiggle wanting to make a zip wire for her toys but turned into an excellent learning opportunity when the ribbon she used broke repeatedly because it rubbed against the other ribbon as it moved. This led to a discussion about friction, investigating how much friction different materials produce and then also a discussion about making fire by rubbing sticks together as well. She decided to use the smooth side of a belt to make the zip wire as it would create least friction out of the items she had available.Playing in the gardenLongacres park

Cover the egg in vinegar.Cover and leave in the fridge for one week (change vinegar after the first 24 hours)Carefully remove the egg from the vinegar.Gently wipe off the shell with a tissue.I am not entirely sure if this is supposed to happen, especially since it then dripped slightly from this bit. Perhaps we weren’t careful enough. Squiggle said the shell looked and felt like sand as it rubbed off.The egg is now quite squishy and rubbery!Squiggle enjoyed bouncing it around the table.Of course it is still an egg so therefore not entirely indestructible! When it finally broke from all the (over-enthusiastic) bouncing, the shell felt like latex but gritty and was almost whole. Squiggle found this very interesting.

Squiggle really enjoyed this science activity and it was of educational value in various ways. I think possibly on average it may be more beneficial for younger children than it states on the box (it says ages 8 plus, my daughter is 5), although this is for safety reasons rather than the age it is aimed at for educational purposes. In other words supervision may be required.

My main gripe was the possible promotion of fizzy drinks to children but it might have worked with a substitute item such as a cardboard roll, we didn’t try this because Squiggle wanted hers to be similar to the picture on this occasion. Other than that it was a simple but fun activity that she got alot out of doing.

Last week we visited Butterfly World again. We have been here a number of times both on our own and with friends, as well as this we have attended a lovely toddler birthday party here a few years ago and organised two home education trips also. It has a very chilled out vibe and there is more to see and do than people might assume. Points of interest in addition to the butterfly house includes natural playgrounds, designer gardens, an ant colony and other insects. There are also handling sessions and talks during school holidays and at weekends. Butterfly World is now closed for the season but re-opens next March. For more information visit the website http://www.butterflyworldproject.com/

Butterflies feeding in the tropical butterfly houseStudying stick insectsLeaf cutter antsThere is lots of space to walk and play. At the top of the hill is a giant ant sculptureNatural playgroundsNatural surroundings to exploreThe magnifying glasses proved to be a good purchase from the gift shop!Designer gardensThe gardens are fascinating, very uniqueThis garden is designed ‘Honey I shrunk the Kids’ style, allowing visitors to imagine they are a tiny creature in the garden.

In reality there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ week for us, we are interest-led and we tend to go with the flow as we feel this suits our needs as a family. The freedom to do this is one of the many reasons we love home educating. I will share more of our personal educational philosophy sometime but that is really a separate subject so I will leave it for now. However, this post aims to give a flavour of the type of thing we might find ourselves doing and a rough gist of what our week might look like. So here is a brief summary of our week:

Saturday

In the morning Squiggle played outside in the garden with her dad. She also picked some blackberries then helped to clean and feed our rabbits. After this we decided to head to the seaside at Southend for the rest of the day.

Playing on the beachCollecting seaweedPaddling in the sea

Sunday

We spent some the day at home then decided to pop to Milton Keynes shopping centre for a little while (where she particularly enjoyed the caravan show and studying the inside of a working clock)

This is the model plane she made at home

Monday

We went to London Zoo for the day.

We enjoyed seeing the star fishes and seahorses in the aquariumIguana in the reptile houseThe gorilla striking a pose!Petting farmSquiggle spent a long time playing in the water fountains with an acorn. She had fun designing a science experiment to see which fountains could hold the acorn up in the water. She did lots of investigating how easily the acorn moved in the little stream as well.

Tuesday

We played at home for a while (self- directed learning) then we decided to go to Paradise Park for the rest of the day.

She decided she wanted to play with some coins that had been left on the table so this led to learning to recognise and sort different coins. We also had a discussion on the value of things.Watching how the otters behaveWe enjoyed watching the white tiger take a bath

Wednesday

We had planned to go to a local park to meet up with some friends in the morning then we also went to Leighton Buzzard park in the afternoon.

Fleetville parkCounting the shapes then setting the dial to the correct numberDeveloping her climbing skills and confidenceThese stepping stones wobble to make this more challenging.Balancing skills

Thursday

We stayed at home today so I produced a hidden parcel that had arrived recently, which she was very excited about. It was a zip wire for her hex bugs! This of course inspired her to play with these for sometime, including lots of exploration and discussion about how they work. Activities she later chose included playing Reading Eggs and Maths Seeds on the laptop.

HexbugsMaths seeds

Friday

Most of our day was spent at the scout hut for art group then ‘meet up and play’.

Today Squiggle decided to spend all day playing outside in the garden. As soon as she went outside one of our cats, Gingerbread, followed her and promptly started to drink some dirty rain water that had pooled up on her sand pit cover. This got her wondering about our cat’s eating and drinking habits so she developed her own experiment to find out what he prefers.

She collected some grass (as she has seen our cats eat this) and two containers, one for wet grass and one for dry. She then asked if she could put some cat crunchies in one of them, so I took this opportunity to explain the concept of a ‘fair test’. She decided she would therefore put an equal number in each and only change the wet/ dry aspect (we should have used the same containers to of course, we discussed this later!) She then observed him to see what he ate most of. She discovered he seemed to prefer wet and concluded this was possibly because he could then both eat the food and drink the water to. She even gave the mixture a name ‘cat lick’ and said it is produced in a place called ‘Gingerbread Gardens’.

(Please note our cat was a willing participate in this investigation, I would go as far as to say he very enthusiastic in fact; we did however talk in brief about it being entirely up to him whether or not he chose to take part though obviously!)

She had her lunch outside in the garden, where she spontaneously did some adding up with the food items. Later when it started raining she became fascinated with watching snails. We talked about them in detail, discussing their differently coloured and patterned shells, studying them carefully and observing them. We also counted them, then she carefully handled some.

Explaining to our cat what she is doingObserving to see what he eats most ofWriting her instructionsExplaining to him that she has made a book for himReading the instruction book to himFinding snails in the rainShe found it fascinating to watch themHolding snails with careHow many snails can you see?

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